ENAM 0220
The Early English Novel
Castaways, Courtesans, and Criminals: The Early English Novel (II) (Pre-1800)
The novel was a young and scandalous literary genre in the 18th century. The reading public found the novel to be confusing, unpredictable, racy, morally dangerous--and of course very exciting. In this course we will examine the rise of the novel as a controversial literary genre, tracing its development from Defoe’s Robinson Crusoe and Moll Flanders in the early part of the century, through Richardson’s didactic Pamela and Clarissa and Fielding’s lively Tom Jones in mid-century, to Sterne’s wildly experimental Tristram Shandy and the more familiar world of Jane Austen at the century’s end. We will also consider the ways in which this history has shaped the fiction of today by reading a 21st century novel, to be determined by the course participants.
The novel was a young and scandalous literary genre in the 18th century. The reading public found the novel to be confusing, unpredictable, racy, morally dangerous--and of course very exciting. In this course we will examine the rise of the novel as a controversial literary genre, tracing its development from Defoe’s Robinson Crusoe and Moll Flanders in the early part of the century, through Richardson’s didactic Pamela and Clarissa and Fielding’s lively Tom Jones in mid-century, to Sterne’s wildly experimental Tristram Shandy and the more familiar world of Jane Austen at the century’s end. We will also consider the ways in which this history has shaped the fiction of today by reading a 21st century novel, to be determined by the course participants.
- Subject:
- English & American Literatures
- Department:
- English & American Literatures
- Division:
- Literature
- Requirements Fulfilled:
- EUR LIT
- Equivalent Courses:
Sections in Fall 2006, School Abroad France (Paris)
Fall 2006
ENAM0220A-F06 Lecture
ENAM0220X-F06 Discussion
ENAM0220Y-F06 Discussion
ENAM0220Z-F06 Discussion